A Popsicle Story
by Moneybags
Summary: *finished* a really hot day in NYC with the newsies .... BOOM!


Title: Popsicle  
  
Author: Moneybags  
  
Part: 1/1  
  
People in here: Cane, Moneybags, Gambler, Bitter, Stress, Martini.  
  
Rating: uhh . dunno .. G? maybe PG for Popsicle Voilence .  
  
It was a really hot day in Manhattan, and just walking around made them hot. Cane and Mush were trying to find a cool spot where they could finish making out. Moneybags and Snoddy were down by the Brooklyn Bridge trying to catch a breeze. Gambler and Racetrack were at the Sheepshead Races hoping that the horse that Race bet on would win. Then they could go and get something cold to drink. Jack decided to sell somewhere else, due to Stress bugging him. She was not going to spend the day at the normal boxing match, it was gross enough, and would be worse in the heat. Martini and Blink went down to the harbor to try and *sell* some papes to the people on the boats. But really they were cooling off in the water.  
  
It was almost noon, and in an hour, all the newsies would meet at Tibby's and eat lunch. As soon as Jack and Stress stepped in, she almost turned right back out. "It's SO hot in here, I'd rather eat out in the sun."  
  
"But we always eat in here. Let's go sit over by the window, we can open it." Stress followed Jack's lead. Pr etty soon all the other newsies, minus Pinkie and Blink, came in and all had the same idea, to go over and sit by the window. "It is so hot today. Some of the horses didn't make it." Gambler filled the others in, who at the moment, did not want to eat hot food. "And because all the horses were going so fast, the Molasses, the horses that Race bet on, won!"  
  
"There wasn't even a breeze at the bridge. We we're gonna go down by the banks and go for a little swim." Snoddy said, grinning at Moneybags.  
  
"Bottle Alley was so sunny today. And what made it even worse, is that we were trying to *sell our papes* these people kept on eating these Popsicles . right above us." A dreamy look came over Cane's face as she remembered the drop of Popsicle that came down.  
  
"Dat's it!" Moneybags sat straight up. "We should all go to Brooklyn and get popsicles!!! There's this GREAT place-" She was cut off by Martini and Blink, who had just walked in the door.  
  
"Ahh! It's soo hot in here Blink." Martini whined. "Let's go back to the river."  
  
"No, let's go see what everyone is doing over there." Blink pointed to the very crowed window area. And they arrived just in time to hear the last part of Moneybags' statement about a great place for Popsicles.  
  
"Did you say Popsicles?" Martini's ears perked up at the mention of some cold food.  
  
"Yeah. Hot, ain't it?" Moneybags said sarcastically, and then continued with her sentence. "So as I was saying, I know this great place and I think we should all forget about selling papes and go get Popsicles at The Popsicle Den, in Brooklyn."  
  
"YEAH! And then we can meet up with Bitter and Spot!" Stress called out, causing the whole restaurant to look at her.  
  
"That's a great idea, Moneybags. Let's go now." Jack glared at Stress, then said to her quietly, "didn't I tell you to stop doing that?" Stress mouthed "I'm sorry" and followed Jack who was walking out of the restaurant heading towards Brooklyn.  
  
A half hour or so later, Cane asked Mush, "Who's bright idea was this to walk to Brooklyn?" She said loudly, staring at Moneybags.  
  
"GEEZ! Sorry for suggesting it!" Moneybags snapped back, this time staring at Jack.  
  
"Okay, it's my fault. We should have hijacked a trolley so we wouldn't have to walk." Jack started to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea.  
  
"I wanna go back to the river!" Martini said mainly to Blink, but she had said it so many times in such a short period that everybody turned around and just glared. But after a few more arguments, they finally reached the Brooklyn Lodging House where Jack was sure they'd find Spot. And find Spot they did, in a bedroom with Bitter. (no, it's *not* like you think, well maybe it was but that's not the point.) Bitter and Spot hurried out of the room, after hearing that the other newsies were going to The Popsicle Den to get cooled off.  
  
"Sorry we weren't out sooner, we were umm .. trying to *cool off*, ya know." Bitter explained as Spot left to go talk to Jack with a grin on his face that said "She is soo good."  
  
With their new addition, the newsies more than ever hurried to The Popsicle Den. "Look! Just over the hill!! I see it!" Cane thought that she was seeing a mirage, but as she got up and touched the building, the others finally believed her.  
  
"ME first, ME FIRST!" Gambler ran up past Cane, and pushing her way through the line that was inside the Den. Race rolled his eyes and chased after her. When he finally found her, he had to drag her out. "Gamb, ya have to wait yer turn! You can't just push your way through." Race tried to explain.  
  
"But I want it NOW." Gambler pouted and Race couldn't take that look from her. So now he ran past the line and demanded for a Strawberry Popsicle. When Gambler saw what Race had in his hand, she ran up to him and grabbed the Popsicle, and started to lick it.  
  
"So what flavor do you want, Cane?" Mush asked her. There were several more people in front of them, and they tried to make up their minds, but there were so many choices. Mush finally decided on Strawberry, and so did Cane.  
  
Oddly enough, all the newsies ended up getting a Strawberry Popsicle. After they were all done with their first one, Gambler decided that she wanted another one and ran back on line to get them. "C'mon Stress." Jack told her. "Ya only live once, might as well have two." Jack waited on line for her, he was going to get another one. Not because he was hot, but they were soooo good.  
  
Actually, after everyone's first Popsicle, nobody was hot, Bitter even got a little cold. And Martini was telling Blink that she didn't want to go back to the river, she was fine now. And Blink agreed.  
  
But anyway, everybody got second rounds, but before Cane began to lick hers, she smelt it. And she heard a voice coming from the Popsicle. "WHAT THE???" she screamed and almost dropped it. Looking straight at it, she asked that Popsicle, "Did you just say "don't eat me'?"  
  
A small, weak "yea" came out of the Popsicle. It was a Strawberry one too. And de-ja-vu everyone got a Strawberry Popsicle for their second round. "DON'T EAT THE POPSICLES!!!" Cane screamed, telling all the newsies.  
  
Everyone just looked at her funny for a while, then just as Moneybags started to go lick her Popsicle, she heard a voice say 'don't eat me'. "Uhh, Snoddy, don't eat the Popsicle." She said.  
  
"What?" he said, as his tongue was inches away from the Popsicle, when he heard the voice also.  
  
Cane started to yell again, when she saw that everybody was not listening to her. "THEY ARE TALKING!! DON'T YOU HEAR THEM? THEY ARE SCARED, AND LONELY!" She paused for a little while, holding the Popsicle up to her ear. Then she continued, "THEY'VE BEEN ROBBED FROM THEIR HOME LAND!" now that she had everyone's attention, she talked normally. "You all hear them too." Everyone nodded, a few of them listening to their Popsicles. "We got to help them!!! we need to rescue the Popsicles and bring them back to Alaska!" at the end of her speech she got a few 'whoo hoos' and 'amen sister'.  
  
"Now the first thing that we have to do is to-" Cane started to say, but stopped because she saw Gambler going back into the Popsicle Den and coming back out with another Strawberry Popsicle. "NO GaMB! You Can't EAT Them!!"  
  
Race went over and took the Popsicle away from her. She wasn't expecting for him to take it from her, and so Race took her by surprise. "Here Cane!" Race threw the Popsicle towards Cane, lucky for her Mush came in and caught the Popsicle for her. "Thanks Mush."  
  
"Now, we got ta go in there and get all the Popsicle's brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and cousins and mothers and fathers and grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and -" Cane rambled on.  
  
"We get the point Cane!" someone shouted from the crowd.  
  
"Okay, but we need to get them and then we have to start up a collection for them and send them back to Alaska!" Cane yelled and hoped that her idea was a good one. Apparently it was, because Moneybags immediately started up a 'Save the Popsicles Fund' and many people were contributing.  
  
Race was busy holding and comforting Gambler who was still upset about not getting her third Strawberry Popsicle. So Cane and Mush, Bitter and Spot, Martini and Blink all went inside to try and rescue the Popsicles. "Okay," Cane was filling them in on her idea to go rescue the Pops. "I think we should go undercover. Who knows what traps might be lurking in the shadows for us." Cane said, leaning in closer as she neared the end of her sentence.  
  
"That's a great idea!" Martini said. "I don't want myself -or Blink-to get hurt."  
  
"Yeah, I've always wanted to do a little undercover work too." Spot said, looking at Bitter.  
  
"Okay." Cane said, pulling out this huge carpetbag (like the one in Marry Poppins!) and then said, "I've got all the stuff we need in here." Cane opened the bag and started pulling out stuff upon stuff, tiny cameras hidden in glasses, ear microphones, all sorts of tracers, a pen that squirts out liquid, you name it. She had everything.  
  
"Uh, Cane?" Mush said, looking very shocked. "Where did you get all this stuff?"  
  
"Well, I have this friend who had a friend who has a friend who has a friend that has an uncle who has a sister in law, and she works for this spy company and they had an extra bag of Super-Spy Ware and nobody wanted it, so I got it! And with this, we can go rescue the Popsicles!!!" Cane ran into a back alley, waiting for all to follow her. "Now, she said, "we have to have a plan, let's see what else is in this bag." Cane looked in the bag and pulled out a big book. "This should help." Cane handed the book to Mush and told him to look for a plan on Popsicles. "Now, we gotta get you guys in costume."  
  
Martini and Blink just looked at each other, and then looked kind of scared. "What do you mean, get us in costume?" Blink asked, his voice shaking.  
  
"You guys don't think that we're going to go back in there without disguises!? They'll know it us!" Cane looked like that was the only obvious solution. So she pulled out two 'unsuspecting customers disguises' and handed them to Blink and Martini. "Just slip these over and you'll both be fine."  
  
"Let's get this over with." Blink said and slipped on the costume.  
  
~$~$~ Scene Change ~$~$~  
  
The next scene is almost exactly like the first, except Mush has glasses, and Martini looks a little taller. Spot is looking at a map, with Bitter looking over his shoulder. They were told to memorize it, so they wouldn't get lost. Mush had finally found a plan, and they were just about to put it into action. "Okay guys, are ya all ready?" Cane asked. "Me and Mush will be here if any of you guys need some back up."  
  
Everyone looked ready. "Let's go." Bitter said, and on cue, Martini and Blink walked into The Popsicle Den.  
  
"Excuse me sir," Blink said, heading up to the desk. "There is a fight outside, and it's scaring away the customers. I don't think that I'm going to come back again."  
  
"What?" the manager said, hurrying outside.  
  
"Clear!" Martini whispered into her watch. That was the cue for Spot and Bitter, dressed in black, to enter in the building.  
  
"On our way!" Spot said, whispering back into his watch. He motioned for Bitter to follow him, as he crept into the building's entrance.  
  
"So you know where he keeps all these Popsicles?" Bitter said, looking around.  
  
"Yeah . well . kinda" Spot looked around for an air duct. "We gotta climb in that thing till we get to the first right, then we get out, and the Popsicles should be right there."  
  
"Okay." Bitter looked up. "You first." She watched as Spot hoisted himself up in the duct.  
  
"C'mon, we gotta hurry. We don't have much time left." Spot reached his hand out to Bitter, who took it and pulled herself up. They crawled through the dusty air duct avoiding the spider webs and spiders. They found the right with no problem, they kind of bumped right into it. "Sharp right, huh?" Spot said, just to make sure that Bitter was behind him.  
  
"Okay, so now where is this opening that we are supposed to climb out of to get these darn Popsicles.?" Bitter asked. "And for the record, I can't see a thing!"  
  
"Right here!" Spot said, as she pushed a door out, and light busted in the dark musty air vent. "There they are." Spot spotted the Popsicles. "Be careful going down, there's a bit of a drop."  
  
"Okay." Bitter said, following his lead. She jumped down and walked over to the crate where Spot was standing by. "So how do we get these things out of here?"  
  
"Well, I have some rope that we can tie these crates to so we can drag them out." Spot started to tie the rope around the crates that contained the Popsicles. "We should check with Blink and Martini to see if the back exit and the halls are clear. That way we don't have to drag this thingy trough the vent." Bitter suggested.  
  
"Good thinkin'." Spot whispered a "Hey, is the way clear guys?" in his Super-Spy Ware watch.  
  
A reply came back and Spot guessed it was safe to go through the halls. "Okay Bitter, let's go." Spot then warned everybody that could hear him on the watch, "We're coming home!" and Spot and Bitter walked out dragging the crate of Popsicles behind them.  
  
"Okay!" came Cane's voice through the watch. "We'll be excepting you soon." So hurriedly, so as not to get caught, Spot and Bitter practically ran back, and got back to the alley in no time.  
  
"Mission Accomplished, boss!" Spot said, and started to untie it, when Moneybags stopped him.  
  
"Don't do that! We gotta get these Popsicles to the train yards! They have a train leaving for Alaska in 15 minutes!" Moneybags said, holding the tickets to his face.  
  
"Where did you come in? weren't you out collecting money?" Spot was a little bewildered. Not only had he and Bitter ran out, dragging these things, and now they had to drag them to the train yards?  
  
"I got the money, it's all set. Jack and Stress are going to lead the way to the train yards and the rest of us are going to push and pull." But you all know that as soon as Martini and Blink changed out of their costumes ( Cane didn't realize that she pulled out a 'Martini Disguise' and a "Blink Disguise', so they dressed up as each other) all of the girls' guys (minus Jack) pulled and pushed the crate to the train yards, all under 14 minutes and 34 seconds, which gave them enough time to load the crate on the train and tape the ticket to the crate.  
  
After that was all done and over with, New York City had cooled down a lot, so the newsies were nice and cool now. They all started to head back to the Lodging House, the one in Brooklyn to drop Spot and Bitter. "One thing I didn't catch, how did you get whoever out of the way so we could slip in? and what happened to him?" Spot asked, seeing that they got the job done and the Popsicles were safely on a train on their way to Alaska.  
  
"Well, Martini and I dressed up as each other . and we went in and said there was a fight." Blink began. "Since nobody was outside, Mush and Cane grabbed him and tied him up and threw him in the garbage dump in the alley behind the Popsicle Den."  
  
"Ohh. Did you let him out?" Bitter asked.  
  
"Whoops. Forgot about that." Cane said. "I'll check the manual to see if we were supposed to." So they stopped in the middle of the road, only to find out that it didn't matter if they let him out or not. But not wanting to go back there, the all just shrugged and finally made their way to the Brooklyn Lodging House.  
  
"Hey Bitter! Make sure you get some sleep tonight!" Moneybags called out, and then ran to catch up with the rest of the newsies (minus Snoddy) who thought that they could loose her. But she (unfortunately to some) caught up with the rest and the made their way back to the Manhattan Lodging House ..  
  
The next morning was one of the hottest morning NYC had ever seen . 


End file.
